Related Clinical Services

Patient Resources

Collaborative efforts between Boston Children's Hospital Departments have led to improved pain management, shorter hospital stays, reduced side-effects, and reduced costs of care for patients and their families. Learn more about our different pain treatment services:

Chronic Pain Clinic is a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and physical therapists who are dedicated to caring for children, adolescents and young adults with chronic pain on an outpatient basis. The team recommends a personalized treatment plan for each patient intended to address not just the pain itself but also any disabilities it may have caused.

Dr. Rachael Coakley has developed a structured curriculum and group based approach involving a weekend day-long intensive program for children and their parents. The program results in measurable improvements in measures of pain, school attendance, functional disability and healthcare resource utilization.

Day hospital multidisciplinary rehabilitative treatment for CRPS has been shown to be clinically effective and less costly than inpatient admission on a tertiary medical-surgical unit or an inpatient rehabilitation unit. A series of prospective clinical outcome studies has documented positive impacts on short- and long-term outcomes, including pain ratings, ratings of limb function, psychological measures, and ratings of functional disability.

Beyond world-class clinical care, cutting edge research, the exemplary medical training at Boston Children's Hospital, offers numerous services that touch the lives of our patients and families. From the child life specialist who are professionally trained to help your child cope with medical procedures and the clowns who bring forth smiles and laughter, to the pastoral staff who offer comfort and spiritual strength.

In children with chronic, hard-to-manage headaches, the pain can significantly impact all aspects of life, including school performance, social activities, sleep, mood, appetite, and family interactions. Together, we help young patients to manage their headache pain, and continue or return to their regular activities by working with patients and their families to ensure that each child we treat is able to meet his or her optimal ability to live life uninterrupted by pain.

The Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) is a team of interdisciplinary clinicians with expertise in pediatric pallative care, who add an extra layer of support to the care of children with serious illness and their families. Pediatric palliative care refers to treatments intended to optimize the quality of life and promote healing and comfort for children with life-threatening illness.

Extensive research and clinical experience indicate that children with chronic pain who attend school regularly do better then those who do not. Pain, academic functioning, psychological well-being and social engagement can all improve when a child attends school, even if they are in pain.

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We are grateful to have been ranked #1 on U.S. News & World Report's list of the best children's hospitals in the nation for the third year in a row, an honor we could not have achieved without the patients and families who inspire us to do our very best for them. Thanks to you, Boston Children's is a place where we can write the greatest children's stories ever told.”